The Ice Cream Vender
by Fuyu no Kitsune
Summary: -‡- oneshot, sequel to The Fourteenth -‡- The girl and her Nobody, along with the Keyblade Warriors and Princess of Heart, finally make it out of The World That Never Was.


**Disclaimer: Er. I don't own Kingdom Hearts, or any of the characters within it. The game belongs to Square and Disney. I do, however, own this title, Hari, Arihx, and the faintly existing plot, and I love them to pieces.**

**Hari: She really does! It's great.

* * *

****The Ice Cream Vender**

Together, they walked through the gates, only to stop when their eyes found Xemnas. Sora glared at him.

"So… it seems your hearts have led you to obliteration," the Nobody said by way of a greeting. "Perhaps it doesn't pay to be too loyal to one's heart. I will have to be sure and remember that." He lifted an arm and a building flew at them, crumbling as it hit the ground. The warriors ducked to avoid the flying pieces, protesting as they realized that the doors were closing behind them; they were going to be separated from them again.

_"No!" _Hari shrieked. "Not _now!" _She banged on the doors with clenched fists, struggling violently when Kairi and Arihx grabbed her wrists. She screamed at the doors in her fury.

"Hari…" King Mickey began.

"I wanted to help!" she wailed. "I wanted to help them fight!" Arihx's blue eyes narrowed in annoyance and, taking a few steps toward her other, she slapped Hari fully on the cheek. The wailing stopped immediately.

"If you're going to be of any help to anyone, you'll need to pull yourself together," the Nobody said coldly.

"Don't you two hafta join for her to anything?" the King asked pointedly. The brunette youth paused, looking uncertainly at her other half before nodding affirmatively. A soft chuckling arose from Arihx's throat, only to morph into full-blown laughter. She turned to face the mouse and Princess of Heart, silvery curls flying behind her, a wild grin on her face.

"I'm not going back yet," she announced defiantly, laughing even more. "I'm not going to join with her yet." A mysterious gleam shone in her bright blue eyes. "I'm not quite ready."

"But you have to go back," Kairi protested.

"But not _yet!" _she howled triumphantly, spinning around to face Hari. "Not yet." She pushed the girl out her way roughly, placing a hand on the doors before them. Grin widening, she started to summon a dark portal so they could be reunited with the Keyblade Master and his friends, but a bright flash blinded her, forcing her grin to disappear, and the doors were gone. Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy were holding their weapons before them defensively; Xemnas was crouching in what appeared to be pain before them. Instinctively, Arihx summoned her bow and prepared for another battle, should it come. She would help to right the situation, she decided, pushing Hari behind her.

"I need… more rage… I need more… hearts…" Xemnas said quietly.

"Xemnas," Sora said. "There's more to a heart than just anger or hate."

"Arihx, please," Hari whispered. "I want to help them." The Nobody shook her head defiantly.

"I told you, Hari: I'm not going to join with you yet."

"Arihx," the brunette whined. "I want to help! Please let me try!"

"You can try on your own, Hari, if you really want. I won't stop you."

"But then you won't be able to have a heart again!"

"So what? This is not our battle," she repeated. "I won't fade away for it. I don't need a heart to survive. I've proved that many times already."

"It _is _our fight! Remember Roxas?" Arihx stiffened, relaxing seconds later in defeat. She remembered him all too well, but she was distracted again by another of Xemnas's disappearing acts. The warriors relaxed, allowing their weapons to disappear as well. They began to laugh.

"Gosh, you all did great," Mickey exclaimed. They all rejoiced in the victory.

Arihx turned to her other, an apologetic expression on her face. "We can't help them," she said finally. "We haven't helped them at all. I don't see how joining you will do any good." Hari began to protest, but the platform interrupted her as it began to shake.

"Hurry!" the King said urgently.

Riku attempted to call a portal to flee through, but failed. Mickey explained that he was no longer a denizen of darkness; instead, he now belonged to the realm of light. Before Arihx could step up and take the responsibility, Sora and Kairi turned just in time to see Naminé summon one. The King and his magician rushed over, confused by the portal's appearance.

Pluto was the first to run through, closely followed by Goofy. Mickey wasted no time either; Donald simply turned to coax the others through before he left as well. As soon as he was gone, Naminé appeared again.

"Thank you, Naminé," Kairi said.

"Sure," the witch replied.

"I could have done that myself, you know," Arihx muttered irritably. Laughing lightly, she turned to Sora.

"See? We meet again, like we promised. Sora stared at her in confusion.

"You said we'd meet again," a voice said, freezing Arihx and Hari's blood, "but when we did, we might not recognize each other." As he spoke, Roxas appeared from Sora's body, transparent as a ghost.

"Is that—"

"Yes, Hari," the Crystal Archer interrupted quietly. "Yes. That's Roxas." The brunette watched quietly as the blonds spoke; her Nobody did the same, trembling all the while.

"I always thought Nobodies were doomed to fade into darkness…"

"Yeah, but you and I didn't," Roxas said proudly. "We got to meet our original selves." He turned to Arihx, a smile on his lips. "And so did you."

The expression was contagious—Naminé smiled, too.

"So, we can be together again!" she exclaimed happily.

"Right. Anytime Sora and Kairi are together."

"We'll be together every day," the Princess promised. "Right, Sora?"

Hari giggled at his hesitant reply. Kairi took a step forward, extending her hand toward the blonde witch. When they touched, a bright glow surrounded them both, and Naminé was joined with Kairi. Roxas glanced at Hari and Arihx, a small smile brightening his features. He turned back to Sora.

"Look sharp!" he ordered.

"Just make sure to come visit us in Twilight Town! And Hayner! And Pence and Olette!" the vender called. With a laugh and a nod, Roxas merged with the Key Bearer in a bright blue flash. "Guess it's our turn, now, Arihx," she said with a contented sigh. The archer said nothing, merely looked at her other without emotion. Suddenly, tears welled up in Hari's blue eyes and she wailed, "Oh, Arihx! _Oh, I'll miss you so much!" _She crushed the Nobody in a powerful hug.

"Guh… Get… OFF!!" she shrieked, shoving the girl off of her person. "I know I won't be here to… _attack _anymore, but do really have to get so emotional?" she asked in annoyance.

"B-But I _hafta _be e-emotional… you can't be," Hari blubbered. The fourteenth sighed, relenting.

"Fine," Arihx said, holding her arms out as she waited for another hug. She didn't bother trying to hide the smile that found its way to her lips. "It may be the last chance you get. Enjoy it."

With a squeal of glee, Hari tackle-hugged her Nobody, falling to the floor with an audible thud after the flash of their joining disappeared. She righted herself and tried desperately to hide the tears that threatened to come out once again.

"Hey, let's go home!" Kairi suggested, standing before the portal. Hari nodded and ran over to stand by the Princess of Heart as the boys talked momentarily. As they started toward the dark portal, it began to disappear, taking Kairi and Hari with it. "Sora! Riku!"

"Roxas!" Hari called as it closed upon them. When the darkness faded away, they were on a beach, facing the water. "Where—"

"We're home!" Kairi exclaimed. "But… Sora… Riku…"

"Kairi, where are we?" Hari asked in confusion.

"Oh, we're at the Destiny Islands. This is where Sora, Riku, and I grew up," she answered with a smile. "But now…"

"Hiya Kairi; hiya Hari!" Goofy said happily. "Where'd Sora and Riku go?"

"They… didn't make it through the portal," Kairi said quietly.

"But they're okay," Hari said quickly. "I'm sure they'll be fine, no matter what happens." The Princess smiled.

"You're right. They'll definitely be okay. Come on, I'll show you around the island while we wait!" She grabbed the brunette's hand and proceeded to show her every nook and cranny of their playground, conveniently forgetting about the secret cave along the way. Hari was astounded by it all; she'd never been on an island before. When the tour was finished, Kairi decided to wait on the beach with the King, magician, and soldier, but Hari chose to make herself at home and lounge on the leaning tree on another small island. She bounced across the wooden bridge, determined to hide her feelings. Right now, she was confused and a little upset: she missed Roxas and Sora, and she missed Twilight Town and everyone in it. And yes, she even missed Seifer and his constant harassment and his toadies. She hadn't seen any hint of her home in so long; the closest she'd gotten to it was seeing Roxas again for the short time that she did. Tired, she closed her blue eyes as the sun peeked out from behind a cloud.

When Hari woke up, it was to faint splashes and shouting. She groaned and started roll off the trunk, but fell instead. Shaking her head, she stood up to see Sora stumbling in the water and then being tackled by a duck and a dog. She chuckled as Riku caught Mickey, relishing the sight of their little reunion and wondering when hers would come at the same time. Her smile brightened when she saw Sora and Kairi clasp hands and faded when Roxas and Naminé smiled at each other. She looked on sadly until Riku noticed her, waving her over to them. Hari smiled weakly and jumped into the water, enjoying the water while she could.

"I told you they'd be okay," she bragged to Kairi when she reached them. The Princess laughed.

"Well, fellas, now that we know you're safe, I think it's time for us to go home," King Mickey decided. "And we can take Hari to Twilight Town along the way." The vender blinked at the sudden suggestion before smiling brightly in anticipation.

"Yeah," she said happily, "let's go home."

The Gummi ship wasted no time landing on the nearby dock. The King and his subordinate friends said their goodbyes and boarded the ship. Hari paused at the entrance, turning back momentarily.

"Remember, Roxas, you promised you'd come visit us in Twilight Town," she said scoldingly.

"Actually, it's 'Sora'," the brunet said with a grin. She chuckled.

"The rest of you can come, too," she acquiesced, waving. The trio waved back in response, both Roxas and Naminé showing themselves for a flash. A bright smile passed Hari's features, and she felt Arihx appear and disappear quickly as she turned and walked onto the ship, door closing firmly behind her.

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**There you have it: the sequel you asked for. One-shot, yes, but. It works, does it not? Anyway, y'all should love me. I'm not letting Hari and Arihx go just yet. **

**-le gasp- But what does _that _mean? Gee, I just don't know. Oh, wait... I do. Hee!**

**I suppose I can give you a hint, though. Hari and Arihx have gone back to Twilight Town, have they not? They have. There is one other protagonist of mine that will be in the same world, although their debut has yet to be made. This protagonist is one of three in an ongoing fanfiction series of mine. The first part of said series is complete, but the next is in the making, and the third (where we will be concentrating on Twilight Town) is all planned out.**

**No, no, I'm not retiring these two yet. So if you like them, and you want to see more of them, be on the lookout for a series of fics from me (you might want to read the whole thing; reading bits and pieces will probably confuse you) and make sure to remember who Hari and Arihx are, so you'll know if you see them.**

**All in all, their story will continue.**

**I hope you enjoyed this little thing!**

**-Ray-**


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